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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

En Face Endocardial Cushion Preparation for Planar Morphogenesis Analysis in Mouse Embryos

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Published on: July 27, 2022

Planar cell polarity signaling: the developing cell's compass.

Eszter K Vladar¹, Dragana Antic, Jeffrey D Axelrod

¹Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

|January 13, 2010

Summary

Cellular asymmetry is crucial for tissue function. This review explores how the planar cell polarity (PCP) system, conserved across organisms, establishes and maintains cell polarity for diverse cellular functions.

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Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
Genetics

Background:

Cellular asymmetry is essential for physiological functions in various tissues.
The planar cell polarity (PCP) system, initially studied in Drosophila, plays a key role in establishing cell polarity.
PCP mechanisms are involved in diverse cellular asymmetries across different organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the mechanisms controlling planar cell polarity (PCP).
To compare and contrast how PCP is adapted for various morphological cellular asymmetries.
To highlight similarities and differences in PCP regulation across different organisms.

Main Methods:

Literature review of studies on planar cell polarity.
Comparative analysis of PCP mechanisms in different model organisms.
Synthesis of findings on upstream and downstream PCP regulation.

Main Results:

Drosophila studies suggest an upstream system converts tissue gradients to subcellular asymmetry.
A downstream system amplifies subcellular asymmetry and mediates cell-to-cell communication of polarity.
The review discusses conserved and divergent aspects of PCP mechanisms.

Conclusions:

The planar cell polarity system is a fundamental mechanism for generating cellular asymmetry.
Understanding PCP provides insights into how cells achieve and maintain polarity for specialized functions.
Cross-organism comparisons reveal conserved principles and organism-specific adaptations in PCP.